Waste Management

  1. The National Environment Agency
  2. Our Services
  3. Waste Management
  4. Overview

Overview

The National Environment Agency (NEA) plans, develops and administers Singapore’s solid (or general) and hazardous waste management systems. This includes licensing and regulatory functions to ensure that waste is properly collected, treated and disposed of. 

The management of solid and hazardous wastes is governed by the Environmental Public Health Act, Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection) Regulations, Environmental Public Health (General Waste Disposal Facilities) Regulations) and Environmental Public Health (Toxic Industrial Waste) Regulations. 

For more information about the management of hazardous waste in Singapore, click here.

Solid waste management in Singapore
Growth in Singapore’s population and economy have contributed to an increase in the amount of solid waste disposed of by about seven-fold from 1,260 tonnes a day in 1970.

With waste quantities projected to continue increasing with growing affluence and population, Singapore's main challenge in solid waste management is the setting aside of land for waste disposal in view of the limited land stock in Singapore.

Singapore has therefore adopted the following strategies encapsulated in the diagram below for a more sustainable solid waste management system. 

Solid waste management strategies

Sustainable solid waste management involves the people, private and public sectors. Working hand in hand with these key stakeholders, NEA has developed a range of initiatives and programmes to curb waste growth.

At source where the waste is generated, recyclables are sorted and retrieved for processing to conserve resources. The remaining waste is collected and sent to waste-to-energy plants for incineration. Incineration reduces the waste by up to 90 per cent, saving landfill space, and the heat is recovered to produce steam that propels turbine-generators to generate electricity, providing up to 3 per cent of the island’s electricity needs.

The incineration ash and other non-incinerable wastes are then transported to the Tuas Marine Transfer Station (TMTS) from where they are barged to Semakau Landfill for final disposal.